[ryans62c20]

I haven't started working on the tranny xmember yet.
I bought a rebuilt manual steering box from " steeringstore " on eBay for $125 plus $13 for shipping. I thought this was pretty good since other places I found them on the net were about $220 plus shipping.
I spent 2.5 hours replacing it on Friday. The box is held on to the frame with one short bolt and two long bolts (see pic of inner side of frame). I had a hard time getting the pitman arm off of the outputshaft, even with a puller. Then I had a hard time getting the input shaft loose. I had to use a ball joint puller (wedge shaped fork) to break loose the attachment. You can't just tug on it or you will damage or break the rag joint on the end of your steering rod.
With the new box, you have to ensure that the gear is centered. I did this by slipping the input shaft into the end of the steering rod below the rag joint, then lightly bolting the box on the frame. Then I turned the steering wheel to the stops both ends, then tried to turn it back half that much. Unbolt the box and slip off the input (without rotating the input shaft). Make sure the steering wheel is centered or level. Then try to put the box back on without turning the input shaft. I had to do this like three times to get it centered along with the steering wheel. When you put the steering box on for the final time, you have to slip the input and output shafts into their attachments before you bolt it to the frame. Otherwise you won't be able to get the ends on. The output shaft has four key slots on the gearing that meet up with four keys in the pitman arm hole. Then tighten everything up.